Until You
by PLL.Aria.Ezra
Summary: An Ezria fanfic. The story takes place while Aria is still in high school and Ezra is  obviously  her teacher. A few crazy twists and turns will occur...hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

They locked eyes for half a second. But that's all it took. In that brief moment, Aria knew there was something about him. Something familiar, perhaps, but also something intriguing. She was the first one to look away and pretended to absorb herself in looking for her book. _Readers Nook _was her favorite place to go on a Saturday afternoon. Especially during the fall. There usually weren't many people there, so she could sit and read all day without being bothered. Even the smells and sounds made her happy; people whispering, pages turning, the smell of new books and vanilla lattes. On this particular occasion, she was looking for _New Kids_, a memoir that one of her favorite actors, Ian Buchanan, was currently reading. She didn't usually obsess over television stars, but Ian was different. He wasn't like one of those fickle, air-between-the-ears celebrities; he was real. As soon as he mentioned the book in an interview, she placed it on her ever-growing "To Read List". As she thumbed through the titles, she looked up to locate him. She spotted him a few aisles away in the non-fiction section.

"What is so familiar about him?" she thought to herself.

Looking down and spotting her book, she grabbed it and made her way towards the in-store coffee shop. She ordered her usual vanilla latte and went to take a seat at one of the two person tables off to the side. And then, as if it was happening in slow motion and she was seeing it happen outside of her own body, her right foot decided to overtake her left foot, her book went flying, and well obviously the book needed a best friend, so her coffee went flying right behind it. And before she knew it, her coffee was spilled, her book was 2 feet away from her on the floor, and she was sitting in quite the awkward position on the floor. But before she could think too long on how embarrassing of a situation this was, the handsome stranger appeared right beside her with a few napkins.

Flustered, and with embarrassment sinking in, she manages to mutter, "Oh, um, thanks. Thank you. Really, you don't have to—"

"No, it's fine. I don't mind helping," he said with a smile that made her heart flutter. He helped her to her feet and then began wiping up the spilled coffee.

She looked at him, this time, _really_ looked at him. He had wavy dark brown hair, with a few locks escaping down his forehead as he bent down to wipe up her spilled coffee. His eyes were a piercing chocolate brown with flecks of honey gold. He had slight freckles sprinkled on the bridge of his nose and cheeks, but you could only see them if you were incredibly close to him. He smelled faintly of lemon, which was refreshing. And his smile? His smile looked like it came right out of a Rembrandt commercial. Simply put, he was gorgeous. And yet, she still couldn't get it out of her head the he was familiar. She couldn't place it, but there was just something about him.

Snapping her out of her thoughts he said, "How about I buy you another coffee? I was just on my way to order something when I saw your little spill."

"Um, sure, why not? Thank you so much."

"What did you order?"

With that distracting smile, she lost her train of thought for a second, but then muttered, "Vanilla latte. Hot."

"Ok, be right back," he said as he stood up, flashed her a smile, and left to get the drinks.

Aria sat down at the table, and ever the queen of over-thinking, she thought to herself, "Why in the world did I just say 'hot' like that? He probably thinks I'm totally into him and even though I kinda am...oh, who am I kidding? I _kinda_ like history. I _kinda_ like Nicki Minaj. I _kinda_ like those little cake pop things from Starbucks. I don't _kinda_ like this guy. I'm in full blown 'this-guy-is-hot-and-I-really-want-him-to-like-me' mode. _But_, I don't want him to think that I'm into him. How pathetic would that seem? Gosh, first I spill my coffee and then I practically tell him I think he's hot. I deserve to be forever alone."

Her phone buzzed, interrupting her self-destructive thoughts, with a text from her mom: "Can u pick up some potatoes, carrots, onions, & apples from farmer's market? We have dinner guests coming tmr. Luv, Mom."

"Sure. Will be back by dinner time," she hurriedly sent back.

Aria looked up to see the handsome stranger approaching. He set her coffee down beside her and took a seat in the chair opposite hers.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked.

"Hmmm, only if you tell me your name," she said with a slight giggle.

"Ezra. And yours?"

Suddenly realizing why he looked so familiar, with her heart racing and her palms slightly sweaty, she took a slight breath to calm herself down, and said, "Aria. Nice to meet you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'll try to update as often as possible and please, keep the reviews coming! Any paragraphs/sentences in italics indicate a flashback!**

Chapter 2  
><em>I usually hated these family dinner parties. We had one at least every other month or so. My family, along with one, maybe two, other families would get together; the moms would cook, the dads would play cards, drink scotch, watch football (you know, the typical 'manly' stuff), and the kids would play outside or play video games or something until the food was ready. I would usually sit on the couch reading a book until my mom took pity on me and would ask for my help in making something or setting the table.<br>On this particular occasion, here I was, sitting on the couch….reading a book. The Fitz' were over, which I didn't really mind. Mrs. Fitz was one of those Martha Stewart-type moms. Completely the opposite of my mom, Ella. So, it was always interesting to observe the dynamic between the two of them. Mrs. Fitz would bring over some incredibly time consuming dessert, like a 5 layer chocolate mousse cake. _

_My mom would say, "Oh, how lovely, you'll have to give me the recipe," and then glance at me and wink. _

_Then, Mrs. Fitz would counter with a, "Oh, of course, I brought the recipe with me. Here you go." _

_Then, my mom would glance at me again with an, "Oh, crap, now I actually have to at least pretend like I'll try out the recipe even though there's no way I'm making a cake that didn't come out of a box" look. And I would giggle hysterically, all the while pretending I was absorbed in my book._

_Then, there was Mr. Fitz. He was very similar to my dad. They were both teachers, so they were always talking about something profoundly intellectual that they had seen or read about. But, they were always trying to one-up each other._

_"Did you see that article in the __Journal of English for Academic Purposes__?" my dad would say._

_"Of course I did. Well, did you read the part where they talked about…"_

_That's about the time they would be on their way downstairs, thank goodness, because that back-and-forth banter would get really old really quickly._

_Finally, there was Ezra. He was the same age as my brother, Mike. They would always run off and play together, leaving me alone on the couch. I mean, can I blame them? What did they have in common with a nine year old? They were fourteen and in __**high**__ school. I was just the nerdy elementary school kid who had big, black framed glasses, a short, mousy, pixie cut, and my nose always stuck in a book. So, there I sat. Reading. Observing. Judging._

_But, at this dinner party, on this night, something changed._

_"Hey Parks," Ezra said as he came over and sat on the couch._

_I usually hated it when people called me 'Parks'. My name was Parker, not parks. I'm not a car; you can't park me. Rude. But, it was Ezra, and he was cute, so I let it slide._

_"Hey. Where's Mike?" I said as I looked at him over my glasses. Bad habit._

_"Playing by himself. He gets too competitive sometimes. What are you reading?"_

_"Uh. __The Giver__. I've read it before, but it's one of my favorites," I said, expecting him to get bored and go back and play with Mike._

_"Oh, wait, I love that book. Aren't you kind of young to be reading that? That was on my summer reading list last year."_

_"So, what? I'm supposed to be reading Dr. Seuss?"_

_"Ha. No, guess not."_

_"Parker, go get your dad and Mr. Fitz and tell them that dinner is ready," my mom said as she finished putting water in everyone's glasses on the table._

_Once I got back upstairs, Ezra said, "Hey, there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. Wanna watch it after dinner?"_

_"Sure!"_

_After dinner, Ezra and I headed to the roof to watch the meteor shower. Mike got in trouble at dinner for teasing Ezra about 'leaving the video game early and being a wuss because you were losing,' so he couldn't go.  
>We sat on the roof and talked. About everything. About reading and who our favorite authors were. About our favorite subjects in school. He told me that his parents had been talking about them moving but they didn't know he overheard them talking. I told him that I had a feeling my parents were keeping something from Mike and I. Yeah, I was only nine, and he was 14, but I'd always been told that I acted more mature than my age. From that night on, we were friends. Best friends? No, that spot was reserved for Mike. But, we were friends and we'd talk whenever he was around.<em>

Three months later, the Fitz' moved from Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where we lived, to Austin, Texas, where Mr. Fitz got a new teaching job. Ezra and Mike kept in touch off and on for a few months, but then they lost contact. But, I never forgot that weird connection Ezra and I shared. About a year after that, we learned that my dad had cheated on my mom. I lost myself after that. I grew my hair out, got rid of my glasses and opted for contacts instead. I decided to go by my middle name, Aria, instead of my first, as a way of gaining some sort of control of my life. I guess, for me, I thought, well, my dad can move out of my house, my mom can stop cooking and cleaning and sulk around everywhere, and I can't control that. But I can control what people call me and how they address me. It was a small change, yes, but it's part of what kept me from losing my mind. That, and my three best friends, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily. They were my rock during all that turmoil.

So, here I sat, seven years later, in front of my long lost friend, Ezra. I looked completely different. I think the last time he saw me, I was wearing red, high wasted shorts, a white Mickey Mouse t-shirt, and yellow Keds with white ankle socks. Today, on contrast, I was wearing my favorite black skinny jeans with black, knee-high boots, a long-sleeved black and white striped shirt, a chunky turquoise statement necklace, and a metal feather ring that had a turquoise gem in it that matched my necklace. My brown hair was wavy and hung halfway down my back. I had ditched the glasses for contacts, and I wore just enough make-up to complement, but not overwhelm my complexion. And Ezra…he had definitely grown up. He was gorgeous. And intelligent. And that connection hadn't disappeared. When we were younger, the connection wasn't really something I could describe. It wasn't a romantic connection, for sure, but it was this connection of comfort and familiarity. Like I could just be myself when I was around him. And now, that connection was still there. I felt totally at ease sitting in front of this person whom I hadn't seen in seven years. And I was completely and utterly attracted to him in every way possible. I was obviously attracted to him physically; I mean who could deny those gorgeous eyes and that blinding smile? But, I was also attracted to his mind and his personality. And more than all of that, I was immediately attracted to how I felt when I was with him.  
>So, I had a choice. I couldn't ignore the age difference. I was now 16 which meant he was 21. Do I tell him and say goodbye to what could be? Or do I keep quiet and see what happens?<p>

"So, what's your major? Considering you're hanging out in a bookstore on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I'm thinking English?" Ezra was saying.

I cleared my throat and, with a smile, said, "Well I do love a good book. What about you? Why are you lurking about in a bookstore on a 'beautiful Saturday afternoon'?"

He took a sip of his coffee and said, "I'm an English teacher. Books kind of come with the territory."

Just then, my phone rang, ruining any chance of a flirty comeback.

"Hello?" I said, mouthing an 'I'm sorry' to Ezra while I answered the phone.

"Aria? My car died. Aren't you at the bookstore? I need you to come pick me up," I heard my mom say.

"What? I thought you were at home. Why'd you ask me to pick up some items from the farmers market if you were already out?"

"Aria! I'm all the way on the other side of town. I figured you were closer. I'm at Target. Please come get me and we can go to the market together," she snapped back.

"Alright, alright. Be right there."

I hung up the phone, and looking at Ezra apologetically said, "I'm so sorry, but I have to go. My m-, uh, roommate needs me to pick her up because her car died."

I left the book there, figuring I could come back and purchase it another time, grabbed my coffee and my purse, and started to get up to leave.

"Do you mind if I walk you out?"

"Of course not. I think I'd be upset if you didn't," I said with a slight laugh.

We walked out to the parking lot and reached my car, a silver Honda Civic that I treated like my baby.

"Well, this is it," I said, looking up at him through the setting sun.

He smiled at me, and before I knew it he was leaning in further and further. We were staring at each other so intently, and right before his mouth reached mine, I put my index finger to his lips, smiled and said, "Hmmm….I think you're going to have to work a _little_ bit harder for that one."

Laughing, he said, "Well, could I at least have your number since you bruised my ego?"

"That, I think I can let you have."

We exchanged numbers and then he opened my car door for me, making my heart melt in the process, we said goodbye to one another, and I went on my way.  
>I knew from the experience with my dad's whole cheating situation that lying to someone had the possibility to completely backfire; call it intuition, or a hunch, or an inkling, or whatever, but I just had a feeling that things were about to get really crazy.<p>

**Author's note: This was a necessary chapter because I needed to give background on Ezra and Aria. The juicy stuff and the drama is coming, I promise! I was tempted to keep going, but I didn't want to make this chapter too long! So, let me know what you think! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all so, so, so very much for the sweet comments! They really mean so much! Sorry it took so long for the chapter! I had some serious writer's block! So, I hope you enjoy it! It was definitely a fun chapter to write (after I got over my writer's block)! Please, please review and let me know what you think! **

Chapter 3

The Sunday before school started was always one of my favorite days of the year. It was a tradition for us four girls (me, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily) to spend the night at Spencer's house, gossip about everything that happened over the summer, bring a ton of clothes to swap and try on, and make wishes about what we wanted to happen in the upcoming school year.

"Oooh, try this on," Hanna was saying, holding up a pink v-neck tank top complete with sequins.

"Han, first of all, it's fall and that's not really weather appropriate. Second of all, that's way more your style than mine," I said with a slight smile and a teasing edge to my voice.

Exasperated, and not catching my teasing tone, she threw up her hands and said, "Whatever. Have you _never_ heard of layering? Obviously not."

I rolled my eyes with a sideways glance towards my other two friends and kept sifting through the piles of clothes we had collected.

"I think I'll just wear a t-shirt and jeans. I mean, I've got swim practice afterwards anyway and no one cares what I look like," Emily rambled out with a frown on her face.

"Wear what you want. But, it's the first day of school. First impressions matter and I have to look the part of the junior class president," Spencer was saying matter-of-factly. "Besides, I want to hear about Aria's crush…"

"Wait. What? What crush? Aria, you have a crush? Deets, deets, we need the deets," Hanna practically gushed out as she took a seat on the floor.

"Why do you have that mischievous 'I know something I'm not supposed to know' look on your face, "I said with a glare aimed at Spencer, "and what on earth would make you think I have a crush?"

I hadn't told any of the girls about Ezra. I hadn't told anyone at all about Ezra. It was my own little secret that I was keeping safe inside my head. I know these girls. Emily would be scared for me because of the consequences…a worrier that one is. Hanna would think it was awesome that I was going after what I wanted but she can't keep her gossipy mouth shut, so everyone would end up finding out about it. And then Spencer…I love her to death, but she's so judgmental. She would guilt me into breaking it off with him.

Cutting into my thoughts, Spencer added, "Because you look like you're hiding something. You've checked your phone no less than 5 times in the hour that we've been here AND you've smiled to yourself more times than I can count."

"Observant much?" I retorted.

"Stalling much?" she snapped back with a glint in her eye.

"If Aria has a crush, it's her business if and when to tell us. It's not right to pry," added Emily.

I gave her a grateful smile right before Hanna piped in with her two cents. "Screw that. We're all best friends. We tell each other everything. So. Spill."

"Nothing. It's nothing. There's no one. And if and when there is, you all will be the first to know. Promise."

"There's no way in hell I believe that, Aria. You're lying."

"Spencer—" But before I could answer her, I looked down at my buzzing phone.

"Hey there. Think we could meet at Wright's Park? Maybe finish the conversation we started the bookstore?—Ezra"

Crap. How in the world am I going to make up an excuse for this one? "Think, Aria, think," I thought to myself.

"Guys. I've gotta go. Family drama."

"What? Is everything ok? What's going on?" asked Emily as I felt three sets of eyes aimed at me.

"I'll let you guys know as soon as I figure it out."

I grabbed my bag and yelled a rushed 'bye' over my shoulder to my wary friends.

"Sure. Meet you there in 15?"

"Ok. See you then."

* * *

><p>"Hey you," I said with a smile as I saw him approaching the playground.<p>

Wright's park was one of my favorite places in Rosewood. It brought back a lot of childhood memories, so in a way, it was odd that he was here with me now. It's like my childhood and my adulthood were colliding in the most magnificent way.

"Sorry for the late text. I just really wanted to see you," he said softly. "And you left so abruptly last time that I guess I was hoping for a longer conversation. I want to know more about you."

"Ok, so what do you wanna know?" I said as I began to push my legs in and out in an effort to make my swing start moving.

"First…ground rules."

I looked at him questioningly. "You have ground rules for holding a conversation?"

"Don't you? Besides, not _rules_ so much as a _rule_." He looked at me sideways with a sly grin. "Hey, you're beating me..." he said as he pushed his legs harder to try to get his swing in line with mine.

"And what rule is that?" I laughed as my swing started to go higher and higher.

"Truth. You always tell me the truth. And if you don't want to answer a question or tell me something, you just don't. But I hate lies."

"I, um, I think I can manage that." Looking up at the stars, I added, "The sky is so clear tonight. This sounds so cliché, but it's like I could reach up and grab a star if I wanted to."

"How about I lasso the moon for you? I think I may have a rope in my car."

"The first part of that sentence was romantic, if not a little cheesy. The second part was scary. Why, may I ask, do you have a rope in your car? Are you planning on kidnapping me?" I looked at him with feigned horror. "Remember, truth goes both ways."

"I'm a teacher, Aria. I have everything from hot glue, to bulletin board material, to posters, to rope in my car."

"Right…using the teacher excuse. I guess I'll take that answer." I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and slowed my swinging. "You know what I've always wanted to do?"

"What's that?"

"Dance under the moonlight. Isn't there something so peaceful about that? Something so innocent and beautiful. No technology. No interruptions. There doesn't even have to be music. Just dance." I was speaking the words, but I don't know if I was necessarily talking to him or not.

"Well, what are you waiting for? There's moonlight. There's no music. My cell phone is now off," he said as I heard the beep of his phone.

"Wait…I didn't actually mean that we had to dance. I was just telling you something about myself. That wasn't some pathetic attempt to get you to dance with me."

He got up from the swing, walked towards me and held his hand out with a smile.

"Are you serious? Are we really going to dance here?" I looked around as if someone was going to magically pop out from the bushes.

"Well, yes, if you don't just sit there. Take my hand. C'mon. Please?" He pleaded with me with those beautiful brown eyes.

"Ok, but no laughing at my bad dancing."

I stood up and he pulled me close to him, putting his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around him and put my cheek to his chest, hearing his rhythmic breathing. And there we were. Sashaying around a playground, with the moon as our light and his heartbeat as my music. There was nothing that needed to be said. I felt like I could be here in this moment forever. I breathed in the scent of his shirt, trying to remember every part of this scene. He looked down at me and tilted my chin up.

"Have I worked hard enough for a kiss now?"

I stood on my toes and leaned into him. Our lips met, softly at first, and then more passionately. I could taste his breath and feel his warmth. He caressed my cheek as his lips continued to find mine. We pulled back and looked at each other and in that split second my whole word changed. I gave him another soft peck on the lips.

"I should probably go. I've got an early day tomorrow, but call me?" I said as I gazed up at him.

"Yeah, absolutely." He let go of me and I started to walk towards my car. "Aria! You should know that I'm a pretty straightforward person. I like telling people how I feel when I feel it and I hope that doesn't scare you. I really, really like you and I need you to know that. Truth, right?"

Looking at him over my shoulder, I said, "I love that truth. Because I feel the same way. I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't. Bye, Ezra."

* * *

><p>"English sucks, but the good news is I heard the new teacher is gorgeous."<p>

"Maybe now you'll actually read a book, huh Han?" Spencer asked with a teasing eye.

"I read…but maybe now I won't so I can get a detention."

"You don't even know what he looks like," Emily said as she took her seat towards the front of the class.

Hanna looked at her with an annoyed look and added, "I trust my sources."

"Oh, Aria, what happened at home? Everything OK?" Em asked.

"Yeah, it was fine. Nothing we need to discuss."

All of a sudden I looked up to our teacher standing there with his back turned toward us. I recognized the wavy, dark brown hair immediately.

"At this point there are two things I can do," I thought. "Bolt out the door as fast as I can or stay frozen staring at him and wait for him to turn around."

But before I could do either of those things, Mike appeared in the doorway of the classroom.

"Ezra? What on earth? You're teaching now? How've you been, man?"

Ezra walked towards him with a smile on his face. "Mike? What in the world? You back in high school again? Didn't learn everything the first time around?"

"Ha! I think I got enough of it back then. No, I'm just here for—" He looked around and spotted me. "My sister, Aria. Well, you remember Parker, right? She's Aria now. Long story."

"Hey, I need your house keys. I'm back in town for the week and I lost mine."

Ezra looked at me with a mixture of confusion, recognition, and then rage. And all I could do was stand there, frozen, and stare into those same beautiful brown eyes, but this time under entirely different circumstances.


	4. Chapter 4

**So I know it's been over a year since I've updated. To say I've been busy is a HUGE understatement. Right after I published my last chapter I got a new job…4 months later I switched jobs, moved to a new city, and started school again. Fast forward a year later…I'm still busy. I'm finishing up my last two semesters of school…still working, so I probably won't update regularly. I'll update when I can and I know that sucks, but I really wanted to finish this story…no matter how long it takes:) Enjoy! **

Chapter 4

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. All I could do was stand there. But then I figured this was already an awkward situation and I should play it off best I could for the moment and then try to talk to Ezra later…if he would even consider talking to me.

"When did you get back into town? And why are you here?" I asked Mike and I fumbled through my bag for my house keys.

"Can't your big brother come home for a visit without being interrogated?" he jokingly fired back. "Aria, you remember Ezra, right? From years ago?"

"Yep, yep, I think I do. Um, hey, uh Ez – Mr. Fitz. What should I call you?" I said as I tried unsuccessfully to avoid eye contact with my teacher/crush/old friend. Not only did I not know what to call him, I didn't even know what to categorize him as.

"Mr. Fitz. You can call me Mr. Fitz. Par—I mean, Aria, long time no see," he said brusquely with a slight hint of hurt and rudeness to his voice. "Mike, we'll have to do the whole catching up thing later. I've got a class to teach. Ms. Montgomery, you should take your seat."

Mike left and I sat down with my heart beating a million miles a minute. It was odd…the last time my heart was beating this fast, it was dancing to the rhythm of Ezra's beautiful heartbeat. And now, our heartbeats, our rhythm was so off, likely destroyed, because I hadn't told him the truth. But what if I had? What if I had told him who I was right when I figured out who _he _was?

Before I could keep the running train of questions and _what ifs_ going in my head Hanna brought me back to reality. "Are you ok?" she asked with genuine concern on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Promise," I replied with a feigned smile.

"Anything you'd like to share with the class, Miss Montgomery and Miss –" Ezra said as he stared us down, piercing right through my core. "Marin," Hanna said, "Hanna Marin. And no, we're good. Nothing to share."

The rest of the class went by in a blur of Harper Lee and Atticus Finch. As soon as the bell rang I sprang out of my seat like it was on fire. I needed to go. Be alone. Figure out what I was going to say to him and how I was going to say it. Figure out where we would or could go from here…if there even was a 'we' anymore. Who am I kidding? We went on one date. One date. That doesn't qualify as a 'we', right? But that connection was there. I know it was. The bookstore. I needed to go to the bookstore…it was always the place I could escape to when I didn't know where else to go.

I sat in _Readers Nook_ with a skinny vanilla latte with an extra shot of vanilla soaking while sitting in my favorite chair and soaking in the sunlight that was streaming through the window. I had been here for an hour already, just thinking. About everything. Thinking is a bit of an understatement. Obsessing would be a much better word. All of a sudden I smelled a hint of lemon. I felt his eyes on me. I took a deep, shaky breath. He moved closer and sat down at an adjacent chair.

"How did you know I'd be here? Nevermind. Not important. Ezra. I—," I started.

"No. Don't. Remember what I said last night? Gosh, last night seems like light years ago," he said as he raked is fingers through his hair and stared at me intently. "I said, '_Truth. You always tell me the truth. And if you don't want to answer a question or tell me something, you just don't. But I hate lies.'" _

"I didn't lie, Ez—"

"Yes you did! You lied by omission of the truth!"

"No, by your words that you just repeated to me, I did exactly what you wanted me to do. I didn't want to tell you something so I didn't. I didn't lie. I knew how you'd react if I told you who I really was and I didn't want you to cut this off before it even had a chance to start."

"Start? Start what? Aria, you're in high school. I'm your teacher," he whispered while looking around to ensure no one was listening. "Your brother used to be one of my best friends. This is wrong on so many levels. We can't. I can't. Last night was a mistake."

"You don't mean that. I can see it in your eyes. You felt what I felt. Even all those years ago as friends we always had a connection…it just happens to be more of romantic connection now. You approached me in the bookstore. You texted me yesterday. You danced with me under the moonlight for goodness sake. And now you're telling me it was a mistake? Because you happen to be a few years older? No. I don't believe that. Say that this can't happen. Say that it's wrong because you're my teacher. Say that you have a moral obligation to end this, but don't ruin or cheapen it by calling it a mistake," I lashed out as a tear fell down my face.

"Aria, don't cry. But we can't. We just can't. I'm sorry. I need to go. People could see or hear. Goodbye Aria".

He left as the tears kept coming. I sat there for a little while longer wondering how I could allow one person, one date, to break my heart so easily.

**There ya go! I'm hoping to finish another chapter today that I will likely post later this week, but no promises. If you feel like it, leave me a comment! More drama's coming in the next chapter. Sneak Peek? Family dinner reuniting old families…awkward. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks so much for the comments, guys! It really helps me keep going with this:) Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 5

"Aria, is that you?"

"Yep, it's me mom. But, I'm not really in the mood to talk. I'm going to go grab a shower."

Aria's mom peeked around the corner from the kitchen as Aria started up the steps. "Wait, what's wrong? Are you feeling OK?" she asked.

"I'm fine, it's just been a long day," I replied hoping she'd take the hint and just let me go.

"Well, just so you know, we have company coming over. I think I mentioned it to you yesterday before all that business with the flat tire happened. It's the Fitz family. You remember them, right? Well, Ezra got a job at the high school…wait did you see him today?"

Aria sighed. _"As if this day couldn't get any worse," she thought. _"I did. He's actually my English teacher," I replied a little sadly. "Why are they coming over?"

"Oh, that's wonderful news! Wow, I can't believe he's your English teacher. Were you guys able to catch up or is that weird seeing as how he's your teacher and all? Was he confused that your name is Aria now?" Aria's mom rambled on waving a wooden spoon around animatedly as she talked.

"Mom. Can we skip the third degree? Back to the point, please. Why are they coming over?"

"Calm yourself, Aria, and don't get an attitude with me please and thank you. Well, since Ezra got a job at the high school, his parents wanted to fly in from Texas and surprise him and we thought we could all get together and catch up at the same time. So I'm making dinner and your father's coming over. I mean, they know we're divorced, but your father is their friend just as much as I am so I thought it might be weird if they had to have two dinners just to see old friends."

"Why does it always take you 20 sentences to say one simple thing? Fine. I'm going to take my shower now," I said as I started to walk away with my mother likely staring after me wondering what the hell my problem was. I took my time in the shower, attempting to scrub away all the hurt, pain, and embarrassment that I had accumulated over the past couple of days. I let the water wash over me until my fingers were pale and wrinkled and the water had long turned cold. I nearly fell out of the bathtub in fear as I heard a loud bang on the door.

"Hey, sis. Whatcha doin in there?" I heard Mike's booming voice through the door. "Using up the entire water supply in Rosewood? Hurry up. Mom wants your help with dinner."

"Fine. I'm coming," I said. I went to my room, flipping through my clothes trying to figure out what to wear. _You know what? _I thought. _Enough of the whiny sad bullshit. I'm going to curl my hair. Put on my sexy-but-not-so-sexy-it's-inappropriate little black dress. Put on my makeup with a little smoky eye….and make Ezra Fitz eat his heart out. _

I got dressed in my killer black dress that hit a couple of inches above the knee. Tight enough to show off my curves, but not so tight that my dad would make me change my clothes. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and had a little lace detail on the waistline. I put on my jewelry and heels and put the finishing touches on my hair and makeup. I walked downstairs to the kitchen.

"Wow, you look nice. I thought you weren't feeling well," my mom said as she finished spooning mashed potatoes into a serving bowl.

"Thanks," I said with a little twirl, "I think I just needed a shower and to relax a little. How can I help?"

We finished up dinner and set the table with silverware, glasses, and flower arrangements. And waited. Finally the doorbell rang and I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I was sure my mom and Mike could hear it. I went to the door, peeked out, and sighed with disappointment. It was just my dad.

I still had major issues with my dad and I was not looking forward to spending an entire night with him. He was still a major kiss-ass, always trying to buy things for us or compliment us all the time in order to make himself feel better for cheating on mom.

"Hey…dad," I said with feigned interest. He went to hug me, but I stepped back a bit and gave him an awkward wave. "I'm going to finish helping mom. Mike's in the living room."

"Aria…I'm still your dad and—," my dad started. But before he could finish, the doorbell rang again. He went to answer it, but I stepped in front of him. "Um…last time I checked this wasn't your house anymore so you probably shouldn't be answering doorbells."

I opened the door to see Mr. and Mrs. Fitz standing there, with Ezra right behind them.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Fitz. Long time no see. How are you both?" I said with a bright, if not nervous, smile.

"We're good, honey. Oh my you have just grown up so much. You look so beautiful. You have grown into such a gorgeous young lady," Mrs. Fitz gushed.

I looked past them to Ezra as they walked into the house.

"Should I call you Mr. Fitz or can I call you Ezra?" I said as he looked intently into my eyes. "I'm not sure which is more appropriate."

"Uh, you can call me Ezra, but tomorrow at school it's back to Mr. Fitz," he said softly as he looked me up and down slowly. "You look stunning," he whispered as he looked past me to make sure no one was listening. We heard the chatter from the other room as our parents excitedly caught up with one another.

"You don't get to say that to me after leaving me in tears in a bookstore, Ezra."

Mike came around the corner. "Ezra! Dude. How are you?"

Ezra glanced at me before walking away and starting up a conversation with Mike.

Dinner dragged on as everyone caught up. It was particularly painful when we started discussing Ezra's 'amazing' teaching job. Ezra kept sending me little looks throughout dinner and I desperately tried to avoid his stares. After dinner our parents went to the living room with coffee to talk while Mike announced he had sudden plans and had to leave. He and Ezra made plans to hang out later in the week and suddenly it was just Ezra and I standing in the kitchen.

"What?" I said as he just looked at me. "You look at me like you want me but you made it pretty clear earlier that you actually don't," I said quietly.

"Let's take a walk. Or sit outside. I can't talk to you here," he said.

"Fine," I said with a sigh. Let me go tell my parents where I'll be.

We decided to just stroll through the neighborhood and as we started down the sidewalk he said, "I never said I didn't want you, Aria." He had his hands in his pockets and was looking straight ahead. "I like you. I made that clear the night at the playground. I don't make it a habit of going around and kissing girls that I meet at the bookstore. But things are complicated and let's not forget you did lie to me. Not only did you not tell me who you really were, but you led me to believe you were older. If I had it my way you'd be a couple of years older and we could see where this…this attraction, this chemistry could lead. You're smart and gorgeous and funny and I _want_ to want you. I want to go on a date with you. I'm fighting the urge not to grab your hand or push your bangs back while I kiss you. But the fact of the matter is…I'm your teacher. Our parents are friends. Your brother is my friend. And you're 16, Aria. I don't know what to do with that," he said, finally turning to face me.

"So what," I said, "we just stare at each other longingly over copies of _To Kill A Mockingbird_? Ezra, I can't do this. If you close this door…it's closed for good. You can't look at me like you want me. You can't tell me the things you just told me. I really like you and I can't, I won't, play these games. So you decide. I'm in. Even with the complications. Even though you're my teacher and our lives are weirdly intermingled. I'm in. I'm in for dates. Seeing where this goes...if it even goes anywhere. I mean, we don't even know if it will, and if it doesn't then that's ok. But what if it does? What if this…us…is great? Look, the ball's in your court. Let me know what you want. Think about it. Take some time. Figure it out," I said as I turned around to walk back to the house.

This time it was him staring at my back as I walked away wondering where in the absolute hell I got all that courage from.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think in the reviews! Up next…what do you think Ezra's decision will be and how do you think he'll tell Aria what that decision is? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow! You guys are awesome. I'm so happy you're liking the direction the story is going. **** Keep the comments coming! **_**This chapter is written from Ezra's point of view. In this chapter, italics indicate Ezra's thoughts**_**. **

Chapter 6

"Ugh," he groaned as he rolled over onto his stomach.

The first hints of sun were just beginning to stream into his apartment.

"_What the hell did I drink last night,"_ he wondered as he slowly let his eyes adjust to being awake. He glanced at the clock—5:30 a.m.

"_Hmm…two hours until work. Maybe I can get in another hour of sleep, half hour to get ready, skip the breakfast and just chug water, coffee, and pop some Advil, and still make it to work on time," _the thoughts rambled through his head.

Instead of sleeping, he tried to piece together the replay of the night before.

"_Dinner with my parents and the Montgomery's. Walked with Aria. Aria told me to make up my damn mind. I left to go home. Mike called, wanted to know if I wanted to grab a drink. I decided, 'what the hell' I could use a drink. Went out. Had beer—lots of beer. Mike wanted to come back to my place with girls. I said it was a school night. Came home alone. Drank some more. Thought about Aria. Drank even more. Tried to figure out what to do about Aria. Drank one more beer. Crashed in bed—I think."_

"_What if I don't go to work today? Could say I'm sick. Except it's the second day of school. I have to go. But I'm going to see her. Wait a minute, I'm not a 16 year old boy embarrassed to see his crush. I'm a grown man. A grown man who happens to really really like a 16 year old girl who happens to be my student. What is wrong with this picture? Everything. Everything is wrong with this picture."_

He finally got up from his bed and went to put on a pot of coffee. He flipped through his closet and picked out a suit to put on. He then jumped in the shower and stayed there much longer than necessary. He had long been clean, now the water was cold and his fingers all wrinkled and shriveled. As the water continued to rain down he thought, "_How do I make this decision. Head or heart? That's the question. Do I go with my head and decide that this is a bad idea and tell Aria that I can't do this? Or, do I go with my heart which says 'yes, this is a 16 year old girl, but she's incredibly mature and bright and talented and I really want to get to know her'? The consequences are outrageous, Ezra. Think about this."_

He finally got out of the shower and got dressed. Grabbed his coffee, a couple bottles of water, and downed two Advil. As he walked out the door he realized he knew exactly what he needed to do.

* * *

><p>He sat in class waiting for the last class of the day. Aria's class. He knew he'd see her and he was prepared for that. He glanced at her as she walked in with her friends. He was very careful not to look at her too long, though. But in that second that he looked at her he saw her long, dark hair flowing down in loose curls. She was wearing jeans, a pink top, and wedges that made her taller. She had on funky jewelry which he was beginning to see was a trend. She liked colorful, unique pieces like feathers and skulls and unicorns. She had on makeup, but not enough to make her look like a Barbie.<p>

The bell rang signaling the beginning of class. Because of his pounding headache and the fact that very few people could discuss the chapter in _To Kill a Mockingbird_ that had been assigned as homework, Ezra decided to take pity on them and make the class period a reading period with a quiz at the end of class.

As the end of class period neared, he handed out the quizzes. He walked by her desk, lingering for just a millisecond. He looked in her eyes, grazing his fingers over hers as he placed the quiz on her desk. She looked at him briefly and then looked back down to concentrate on her quiz.

As the students were leaving and handing in their tests, he realized Aria was one of the only ones left. As she left her test on the desk he said, "Ms. Montgomery would you mind staying after?" She didn't say anything, just waited by one of the desks until all the students were finished.

"What do you need, Mr. Fitz? I need to get home," she said, looking more at the door than at Ezra.

"We need to talk, but not here. Can we please talk? Have an actual conversation," he said.

"Have you made up your mind yet? If not, there's no reason to talk. I don't really have much to say unless you've decided."

"I've figured it out and we need to talk. Tonight? Wright's Park?"

"I'll see if I can get away from my house. Probably will have to be after 7 if that's ok?"

"Yep, that's fine. I'll see you tonight, Ar—Ms. Montgomery," he said as Mrs. Welch, another teacher walked in.

"Thank you for the comments on the quiz, Mr. Fitz," Aria said as she walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Hey, you," Ezra said with a smile as he saw Aria approaching. They were in Wright's Park, but further out from the playground area and more into the woods so as not to be seen. He just couldn't take any chances with a student or parent or faculty member seeing him at late at night…in a park…with a female student.<p>

"Hey. So…what's the decision," Aria asked brusquely, barely looking at him.

"Aria, I don't understand why you're so angry with me. You won't look at me, you have an attitude out of this world, and anytime I say anything to you you answer with a one liner. _I _should be the one who's angry. You lied. You knew who I was and you lied. You're my 16 year old student and yet you led me to believe you were older and I didn't find out until _after_ I was already deeply intrigued and attracted to you. But _you're _the one who's angry?"

"Ezra, I—," Aria started.

"No. Let me finish. I don't get it. I really don't. I have a sneaking suspicion that you don't trust people, namely guys, as a result of what happened with your dad. I could be way off base here, but I'm not like your dad, Aria." He could see Aria tearing up, so he stepped closer to her and wiped her cheek with the back of his hand. "Look, I thought about this, um, situation we have. I thought about both sides. The consequences. The responsibility of making this decision." He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at her. "Aria, will you look at me, please?"

"I don't want to look at you if you're going to tell me you have to be 'Mr. Fitz' every time I see you. I know we only just met, well met again, but I feel at peace when I'm with you and that's hard for me to say because I don't let people in, Ezra. So if you're going to tell me we can't do this, then I can't look at you," she said while staring at her feet. "I know I was all courageous and bold after my parents dinner and that's typically my personality but—"

Ezra put his index finger under her chin and tilted her face up so she was looking at him. "I like courageous Aria. I like knowing where you stand. I want you to look at me because I'm going to tell you that I'm in. I'm in for dating. I'm in for seeing where this goes. So don't stop looking at me."

"Seriously, Ezra?" she said with a smile.

"There's that smile. Finally! I was thinking it disappeared for good," he said with a laugh as he leaned in. His lips touched hers as they slowly, softly kissed. He felt her grab the back of his head and pull gently pull him closer. He gripped the sides of her face as his mouth continued to find hers. He pulled back, still inches from her face.

"Yes. I'm serious. Let's be crazy together, Aria."

"Does this mean we can have an actual date?" she said with a laugh.

"I got a little cocky and figured you'd obviously say yes and we could have our date now. But not here because I'm paranoid for obvious reasons. Mind coming back to my place? Please? We need to finish talking and I've got dinner all ready for you."

"Oohh, dinner and conversation. I'm in. I think that's our theme…or phrase or whatever. I'm in." She pecked him on the lips one last time and started to walk away. "I'll meet you there," she said over her shoulder as she gave him a smile that made his heart turn to mush.


	7. Chapter 7

**After all the heavy stuff, this is a fun chapter. It's a little short, but it's fun. Hope you enjoy! Italics indicate a flashback!**

Chapter 7

"Don't you dare, Ezra," Aria said with a scowl on her face. "Truce. Can we please call a truce?"

There was alfredo on the floor, her hair, and probably some that had escaped down her shirt. Ezra's hair was flecked with white sauce, there was what looked like bits of parmesan on his arms, and he was currently armed with chocolate cake in one hand ready to fire it off at any second.

Somehow their romantic date had turned into a food fight with Caesar salad flung across the apartment, chicken alfredo covering them and most of the floor, and it looked like dessert might be the next weapon of choice.

It had all started so innocently. They had gotten to his apartment where he had most of the dinner ready and just had to reheat the pasta. He had gotten everything set up and made their plates, but then spent a little while fussing over the chocolate cake.

"_Ezra. Will you please come over here and eat? We can worry about the cake later." _

"_Just 2 minutes. Just two," he said as he looked over his shoulder at her exasperated face._

"_Do I need to feed you to get you to come over here and eat with me?" _

"_Hmmm….maybe that's a good idea," he said. He walked over as she placed a little bit of the pasta on a fork and went to give it to him. But before it reached his mouth, some of the pasta fell off of the fork and onto his shirt. He looked at her and she started hysterically laughing. _

"_I'm sorry, so so sorry," she said through the laughs._

"_Oh, this is funny to you?" he said smiling. "Let's see if you think this is funny." He grabbed some of the salad and tossed it at her, ensuring the majority of it would land in her hair._

_Aria paused and her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, you did not just go there. _

_Next thing you know pasta was flying, lettuce was scattered everywhere, and they were both covered in food._

And now, here Ezra was, armed with chocolate cake. "Oh no, not the cake. No no no. Not the cake. I missed my dinner, I am not missing cake. Ez, put the cake down. Slowly."

Ezra looked at her and teasingly pretended to throw the cake. Aria ducked and put her hands in the air before realizing he was joking.

Ezra put the cake down and started to walk over to Aria. "Truce?" he asked.

"Truce. Now can we please actually eat the cake? I'm so hungry."

"Sure," he said with a smile has he grabbed her face with his chocolate covered hands and gave her a kiss.

"As if I wasn't covered enough, you decided to give my face a chocolate makeover, too?" Aria said as she grabbed his hand and placed one of his fingers in her mouth to taste the chocolate.

"Mmmm…tastes good."

"Well, there's plenty of it. So, you can't go home like that. Do you want to shower here while I clean up and then we can have cake? I can wash your clothes quickly and give you something of mine while it dries…"

"Ummm, yeah, you're right. I probably shouldn't go home with alfredo in my hair."

"Aria, if you're uncomfortable…"

"No, no I'm not. It's fine, really. Let me shower then we can eat, okay?" she said.

Ezra got her some sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a towel. He handed them to her and then started to clean up.

Aria took a quick shower and returned in Ezra's clothes. She felt a little self conscious with wet hair, no make-up, and baggy sweats, though. "Great, now our romantic date has turned into me looking like I've lounged on the couch watching re-runs of _The Vampire Diaries_ all afternoon," she thought as she walked into the living room.

"Ready for ca—," Ezra started as he turned around. He saw her standing there and couldn't finish his sentence.

"What?"

"No-nothing." He cleared his throat. "You just look really beautiful."

"Oh, Ezra, please," she said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ears. I'm in sweats with wet hair. But thank you for saying that."

"I told you when I first met you I don't say things I don't mean. Anyway, here's your piece," he said, handing her the cake.

"Piece? Oh, I'm gonna want more. But this will do for now," she said smiling as she sat down on the couch next to him and started to eat.

"So…this has been a lot of fun, right?"

She looked at him smiling, "Absolutely. Best first day I've ever been on."

"We have to think about how we're going to make this work. If we want to make this work…"

"If, Ezra? I thought we already went through that. I'm in, you're in, we're both in, right?"

"Well, yes, I meant now that we've had a couple of hours to think through everything, I just want to make sure we both want to make this work and no one's had a change of heart."

"I haven't. Not even for a second. Have you?"

Ezra finished eating his forkful of cake, "No, not at all. We can't keep meeting here. There's a possibility someone could see us or see you coming here. We can't risk that."

"Hey, remember when we were kids, you and Mike had that old building you used to go to? You called it a fort and used to play 'war'. What about there? No one would see us there, right?"

"Right…but it's kind of an old dirty building. There's nothing in; it's completely empty. Not really romantic, is it?" He paused. "Wait, how do you know about 'war'? Did you spy on us?"

"I plead the fifth," she said with a slight hint of teasing to her voice. It doesn't have to be; we can clean it up a bit, bring some blankets, an iPad, some books, and just hang out, you know? Picnic basket with food if we want to eat. It's better than nothing I think. Where else are we going to hang out? A sketchy motel room or your car? No, thank you," she said finishing her last bite of cake.

"Well then, the old building it is. Let me get your clothes…I think they're dry by now. What are you going to tell your parents about your hair?"

"Well, it's raining so I'll just tell them I got caught in the rain. Speaking of, I really should go. I told them I'd be studying at Emily's but that I'd be back by 10." She grabbed her clothes and went into the other room to change. She came back and grabbed her bag as he stood up.

"This was so much fun, Mr. Fitz," she said laughing. She leaned up on her tiptoes and gave him a sweet peck on the lips.

"That's all I get? You vandalize my house and I get a peck?" he said with a smile.

"Well, maybe you'll get more next time. Want to meet tomorrow? After classes? At the old building?"

"It's a date."

"It's a date." She smiled, and leaned up one last time and kissed him.

"Bye, Ez."

"Bye."

**After this fun chapter, I hope y'all are looking forward to some drama in the next one!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Once again, I'm an awful person. Sorry for it being so long! I doubt anyone's actually reading this, but if you are then I hope you enjoy it:) **

Two weeks had passed since their first date/food fight. It had been two wonderful weeks of late night calls, meeting at the old building after classes, and trying not to stare at each other during school. Her friends knew something was up with her, but Aria wasn't ready to let them in yet. She couldn't let anyone to know what was going on. It wasn't just about her; it was also about Ezra's career. They hadn't done anything that could warrant jail time, but he could definitely lose his job and teaching license if anyone found out. So, for now, they were content with sneaking around.

On this particular day, they decided to yet again meet up at the old building.

"Hey, Ez," Aria said with a smile as she looked up and saw him walking towards her. She was sitting on a couple of blankets flipping through a magazine.

"Hey, gorgeous. This is the best part of my week…when we can finally be together and talk like a normal couple," he said as he bent down and kissed her softly.

"Ha! There's nothing normal about us, babe. Normal went out the window weeks ago."

"I know," Ezra said with a sigh.

"What's wrong? Long day?" she said. As he said down she rubbed her hand through his hair, pushing his hair out of his face.

"No, no. Just. This. I want to take you out in public. I want to hold your hand. I want to tell my old best friend that I'm dating someone. I want to tell my current best friends that I'm dating someone. They all know something's up with me and it's only a matter of time before they go around trying to figure out what that something is, Aria. I guess I'm just on pins and needles thinking about someone finding out about us."

"I know, Ezra, believe me I do. My friends know something's going on with me. I barely hang out with them anymore. Secret phone calls and texts. Disappearing all the time. I want to be in public with you, too, but what's the alternative? Not seeing each other? I'm not willing to do that. I'd rather be with you in secret than not be with you at all. We have something amazing. Something that goes beyond our age difference. This is just the price we have to pay for right now, right?"

"You're right. Let's just…forget about all the what ifs and enjoy each other's company, yeah?"

"Yeah," Aria said smiling as she laid her head on his chest.

* * *

><p>"I don't want to stop kissing you," Aria said and she looked into his eyes. She was rubbing her hands through his hair; his hands were on the small of her back. She leaned in one more time and kissed him softly.<p>

As he pulled back he said, "Aria, we've been here for hours. Your parents are going to wonder where you are."

"Stop ruining the moment," she said with a slight laugh.

Just then she looked up and felt utter panic and terror.

"What the hell?" Mike said as he stormed into the building. "Ezra? Aria? What the hell is going on? You're her teacher you bastard," he said as he lunged toward Ezra.

Before she could even react, Aria heard the _crunch_ as Mike's fist made contact with Ezra's eye. She ran in between them as quickly as she could.

"Mike. Stop. Stop it, now," she yelled. "Ezra, are you ok? Are you alright," she asked as she looked at Ezra's eye. She glared at Mike, "What is wrong with you. You storm in here like a barbarian without even asking any questions and what? You hit first ask questions later?"

Ezra was eerily quiet. "Babe, are you ok? Look at me, are you alright?"

Ezra, seemingly stunned, was finally able to muster up an answer. "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. I'm, I'm ok. Mike, it's not what you think."

"Not what I think? Let me tell you what I think. I think the guy I thought was my good friend has been making out with my sister. I think the guy who is supposed to be teaching my little sister has instead been boning her and you're lucky I only hit your eye and didn't knock you out you piece of sh—"

"Mike! Enough! First of all, I don't need your help, and I don't need your protection. I came here on my own free will. We met again before he even knew who I was. When he found out who I was he tried to break it off, actually he did break it off. I convinced him that we should give this a shot because we actually like each other. And, for the record, he's not_ boning _me, but even if we were sleeping together, that wouldn't be any of your damn business."

"None of my business? You're my sister, Aria. And this guy is 5 years older than you and your teacher. And it's none of my business? I've gotta, I've gotta get out of here before I seriously hurt him," Mike said as he started to turn and walk away.

"Mike. Wait. You can't tell anyone," Aria yelled after him. It was too late, he was getting into his car. She thought about running after him but knew he needed time to cool off.

Ezra and Aria looked at each other. "I'm so so sorry, Ez," Aria said with tears rolling down her face.

"No, why are you crying, Aria? This isn't your fault. I'll talk to him. I will."

"No, you shouldn't. He might actually kill you. I'll talk to him. I'm crying because I have no idea what he's going to do. I'm crying because you just got punched in the face for me. I'm crying because this beautiful thing we have could come crumbling down. I'm crying because Mike overreacts and acts before he thinks and within the next hour my parents, your parents, and all of Rosewood could know about us and that scares me. The consequences scare me, but even more than all of that, the thought of not being able to be with you…that terrifies me."

"We'll deal with it, Aria. We will," he said as he looked down to see his phone ringing…


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Ezra, maybe you should think about this. Maybe this isn't the best decision. I know my brother. He needs time to cool off," Aria said as she rushed after him.

Ezra turned to her as he was putting the rest of his things in his car. "Aria I know your brother, too, remember? We used to be best friends. He wants to talk, so we'll talk."

"He punched you 10 minutes ago or have you already forgotten? What if he just wants to yell at you before telling my parents? And your parents? And the principal?" Aria said as she bit down on her bottom lip nervously.

"I have a massive bruise and an aching pain in my temple, so yes, Aria, I remember," he snapped.

"Why are you talking to me like you're upset with me, Ezra? You know what? I'm just trying to help. So, you go do whatever it is you feel like you need to do. If you end up with two black eyes, don't come running to me," she said as she turned toward her car.

"Hey, wait. Ar-"

"No. I'm not waiting. I said I don't think it's a good idea. You obviously don't feel the same way. And not only do you not feel the same way, but you decide to get an attitude with me when I'm not the one who did anything wrong. So, I'm going to get in my car and go and you go do what ever you want to do," Aria said as she started to get into her car.

"Aria. Stop. So, what, things get a little difficult and you just walk away? Is this how it's going to be? You knew this wasn't going to be easy. And you knew that there was a possibility of someone finding out about us. You knew that going into this. I'm on my way to go talk to your brother to fight for us. And if he tells your parents or my parents or anyone else, I'm prepared to go to bat for us. Because I want to be with you. Because you're not just my student and I'm not just your teacher. Because whatever this is that we have is worth fighting for. It's worth losing my job over. You're worth it to me, Aria. But, I won't do that if, when things get a little messy and we don't agree over something, you walk away. I snapped a little. I'm sorry for that, I am. But you need to tell me, right now, Aria. Is this how it's going to be? Because if it is, then you're right. I shouldn't go talk to your brother because there's nothing to talk about.

Aria got out of her car and looked at him intently for a few moments. She took a deep breath and walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. They kissed gently at first and then more passionately as they released all the anger and tension and fear of what was to come. They let it all melt away as they let their hands move over each other's bodies and their lips continue to find one another. Aria pulled back and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried and stressed and even though I still think you should give him time, I'll let you do what you need to do. This isn't how it's going to be. _This_ is how it's going to be," she said with a smile as she kissed him once more.

"Call me as soon as you're done talking to him, OK?" she said as she swept the hair from his face and gently grazed his cheek with her fingertips.

"Will do," Ezra said as he turned and started walking back to his car.

* * *

><p><em>Knock knock knock<em>. Ezra's hands were sweaty and he was slightly shaky as he knocked on the door to the Montgomery house. Ella wasn't home, but he saw Mike's car in the driveway. He wasn't sure this was the best place to meet, but Mike insisted. He could just imagine Ella walking in as Mike and Ezra were going at it WWE style in the living room.

"Come in," he heard from inside the house. Ezra opened the door and was unsure of what to do next. Normally he'd go looking for Mike and make himself at home but this wasn't normal and at this point in time, they weren't friends. He stood in the foyer of the house with his hands in his pockets and nervously rocked on the balls of his feet.

Mike came around the corner. "You want to sit or should we just hash it out right here?" he said brusquely.

"I'd rather sit," Ezra said as he walked into the living room.

They both sat and stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime in Ezra's mind.

"How long has this…this _thing_ been going on between you and my sister?" He said _thing_ with disgust and slight contempt.

Ezra looked him in the eye, "I saw her in the bookstore the Saturday before school started. I had no idea who she was. She said her name was Aria. I bought her a coffee, we talked briefly and that was it. We met up in the park the next day and talked a little more. I didn't know she was Parker until Monday when you showed up at the school."

"That doesn't explain why, when you knew who she was, that you didn't cut it off."

"I tried. I told her we couldn't be together but we already had this connection, Mike. Not on a physical or sexual level, but on an intellectual level. We just click. Don't look at me like that, dude. I mean, yes, she is gorgeous, there's no denying that, but do you really think I'd risk everything, and I mean _everything_ on a girl simply based on her looks or what I thought I could get from her physically? You know me. You know the kind of person that I am. If I didn't love her I wouldn't be talking to you right now." _Love_. That word took even Ezra by surprise. They hadn't even really been dating that long. _Love._

Mike snapped him out of his thoughts, "So what now? You just keep hiding out at that old building and making out after school? This isn't a realistic relationship. You are one of the most down to earth, pragmatic people I have ever met so this situation you've put yourself in just doesn't make any sense to me. You fall in love with a 16-year-old student who is the little sister of one of your former best friends? I was angry earlier…no I was pissed the hell off. I could have seriously hurt you with the amount of rage that was coursing through my body. But I thought about it. Knowing the person you are I know you would never take advantage of Aria and I know you wouldn't put yourself in this predicament unless she really meant something to you. That does not, under any circumstances, mean that I agree with this. Dude, if you were smart at all you would stop this now. But, I won't tell our parents or anyone else. But when this comes out, because it will, I hope for your sake that you have a plan B because you are going to be in a world of trouble."

"Thank you," Ezra said, "thank you for not telling anyone."

"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for my sister. When this comes out she's going to be devastated, and I can't be the one to bring all that pain into her life. She's happier now than she's been in a long time. But, you know what, me and you? We're done. As far as I'm concerned you're a stranger. Now get out before I change my mind."

Ezra looked at him with a quiet sadness and stood up to go.

"Mike," he said, turning, "I-"

"No. Go. Now," Mike said as he turned and started walking back up the stairs.

**Next chapter we find out why Mike is _still _home...and we start leading up to something MAJOR happening. Hope you guys are still enjoying it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Seriously? Really, Aria, you're going to tell us that nothing is going on? We're you're best friends, or so we thought." Hanna was staring intently at Aria as Spencer and Emily looked on. "We know you," she continued, "and you're not the same. You're keeping secrets, you're stressed out, and you're biting your nails," she said with a final huff.

Aria looked back and contemplated what she was going to say next. She needed to let someone, anyone really, know what was going on. But Mike already knew and wasn't happy about it so what would happen if she told her friends and they were just as disgusted as Mike was? What if they thought she should tell her parents or worse what if they said they didn't want to be around her anymore if she was going to be with Ezra? She quickly ticked off the pros and cons in her head and then took a deep breath, looked down for a moment, and then looked back up at her friends and prayed for a good outcome.

"What I'm about to say does not go beyond this room. You don't tell anyone…not your parents or your boyfriends, or girlfriends," she said looking at Emily with a smile. Don't ever mention it to another soul. If you feel like you can't do that then I'll just leave right now."

Emily, Hanna, and Spencer looked back and forth at each other and Spencer, always speaking for the group, said, "You know we won't tell anyone anything unless you tell us we can, Aria."

"Well then you might want to sit because this story is a long one."

The girls sat and Aria recounted the story. The girls were surprisingly quiet, likely realizing that for Aria to have the courage to tell them they needed to listen and not ask questions or insert their opinions before she was finished.

She finished telling them everything, all the way up to Mike showing up and punching Ezra. The room was eerily quiet and Aria realized she was holding her breath. She looked up at her three best friends with her big brown eyes that were pleading them to be OK with this. Emily was the first to speak.

"Why didn't you tell us this when school started? We would have understood, you know that right?"

"Oh, what was I supposed to say? 'Hey guys you see our teacher up there that Hanna just said was hot? Well he's my brother's old best friend who I met at a bookstore and made out with in the park but he doesn't know who I am even though I know who he is but I really like him and he's 5 years older than me and he's also my teacher. Wonder what's for lunch? Yeah, I'm sure that would have gone over really well, guys," Aria said as she twirled a lock of her hair in between her fingertips.

"It might not have gone over smoothly but we still would have understood. Just like we do now. We support you Aria, whatever you need. We know you and we know that you wouldn't do something like this unless what you and Mr. Fit- uh, Ezra, have is real," Spencer said as she scooted over to where Aria was and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Ditto what Spencer said. And I want all the juicy details. What's it like to kiss Mr. Fitz?" Hanna said with a little squeal.

Aria laughed as a tear escaped her cheek. "Thanks, guys. You have no idea what that means to me. You guys are the only ones who know outside of Mike and I was dying inside not being able to talk about this. And it's none of your business what our kisses are like. And for the love of all things, call him Ezra when you're around me. Mr. Fitz sounds weird now."

Just then her phone beeped. "We need to talk. Now."

* * *

><p>"Guys, I gotta go. It's Mike. Pray for me. I'm not even kidding," she said as she walked out of the room wondering how this next conversation would go.<p>

"I'm not going to yell at you so you can get that 'ready for battle' ice cold stare off of your face," Mike said as he looked at Aria who was standing in the doorway to his room. "I already yelled at your boyfriend told him we're no longer friends so I really don't feel like yelling anymore. That's not why I asked you to come home."

"So, what's up? All out of punches and don't feel like yelling? You sure you're my brother?" Aria sat down on shaggy rug in her brother's room and looked up at him. He had a look on his face that she couldn't quite place. After a second or two she realized it's the look he had when he told her about their dad's affair. As if there was something he knew that she didn't and he didn't want to tell her but knew he had to.

"Mike. What's going on? That look on your face. What happened?"

Mike closed his computer and took a look at his sister. She really had no idea. And, once again, he had to be the one to tell her something that would change her life forever. Sometimes he hated being the older one because the older one is always the one who has to be strong and dependable and tell the younger one the bad news.

"I didn't just come home on a whim, Aria. If I'm being honest, I didn't really want to come home."

Mike had been living in New York working as a personal trainer and in the midst of applying to physical therapy school. He loved his job…he worked with mostly women. What could he say; he was good with the women. They liked him and they paid him well. And the _other _perks were good too. He went out almost every night. The clubs, the bars, the women. Life was good. And he had no desire to come back to Pennsylvania. But when his mom called, he had no choice.

"Have you even seen mom lately? Have you talked with her? Face to face, I mean," Mike asked Aria before diving into what he had to tell her.

Aria thought for a moment. "No, now that I think about it I haven't. Between school and –"

"Your boyfriend," Mike interrupted harshly, finishing her sentence.

"Yes, Ezra. I've just been busy I guess. I think the last time I actually saw her was a couple of days ago. But I talked to her last night and she said she had a lot of work to do at the art gallery and then this morning she sent me a text making sure I had gotten off to school all right. Why? Where is she?"

"You've been so busy with your _relationship_," he said with a mixture of contempt and disgust, "that you haven't even realized there's something going on with her." He saw the tears and fear start to well up within his sister and immediately felt bad. "Aria, I'm sorry. Please don't cry. That was a low blow." He got up and sat beside her on the floor and lifted her chin up with his finger. "Stop crying."

"Mike, for the last time, what is going on? What's wrong with mom? Where is she?" she said between sniffles and she got up to get a tissue from the top of the dresser.

"She's sick, Aria. She's been fatigued a lot lately. Sleeping, not having energy throughout the day; she's had to come home and take naps on her lunch breaks. She's fallen multiple times over the last few months, mostly at the art gallery. You wouldn't know about it," he said as he saw the guilt wash over Aria's face. "She thought maybe she wasn't getting enough sleep so that was manifesting itself by making her more uncoordinated and unfocused. She went to the doctor about a week before I came home and found out it was multiple sclerosis. From what I've read, it's a neurological disease that causes muscle spasms, weakness, fatigue, issues with motor function, which explains the falling."

Aria was quiet for a while trying to wrap her thoughts around this. This wasn't fair. Her dad cheated. If there was any justice in the world, that man would have gotten sick. But no, the one who was good, the one who had two jobs for a while to help support her took kids, the one who picked herself up and was an amazing single mother is the one who gets sick. "So what now? Where is she," Aria said as the tears continued to stream down her face.

"She needs to go to Canada for an experimental treatment. She doesn't know if it's going to work. She didn't want to bother you; after everything that happened after Dad left she didn't know how you would handle it so she wanted me here when she told you. But then an opportunity came for her to go to Canada sooner rather than later so she had to go. And so I had to tell you. That's why I came looking for you when I found you and Ezra at the old building. It's why I'm still here and haven't gone back to New York."

"So, she's what? Just gone? This is better than her telling me weeks ago when she found out? This is supposed to better than the reaction I would've had if she had just sat me down and told me? I can't see her, I can't hug her? This is bullshit, Mike. I want to see her," Aria said as she gathered her purse.

"She's gone, Aria," Mike said standing up to block the door. "She caught a flight in Philly a couple of hours ago."

"I can't be here." Aria ran her nervous fingers through her hair. "I need to go. I can't. I just can't be here." Aria ran down the stairs as Mike called after her. Her life was crumbling down around her and this time she can't change her hair or her name. She knew where she needed to go. The only place that felt safe and normal anymore.

**Sad chapter...sorry about that. Next chapter is going to be BIG as far as plot goes. Hope you enjoyed it! **


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